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The Stephen King Marathon – Carrie

It was amazing, having read Doctor Sleep, King’s latest, to go back and read his very first. It’s still very obviously his voice, that hasn’t changed much over the years, but I can still tell that he was so much younger when he wrote it. I can’t say exactly how, it just felt less… I want to say mature, but not really, because Carrie is written rather maturely.

Even though I know the ins and outs of the story (who doesn’t?) it was still great rereading this book. I had totally forgotten about all of the articles, and the excerpts from studies made by doctors about telekinesis being passed down through genetics. Really interesting theories scattered throughout the main storyline.

Also, poor Carrie. :*( I haven’t seen the movie (the 1976 one, haven’t yet seen the new one) for quite a few years, but most of the plot points from my memory were from the movie. I’d forgotten all the little nuances of her character, all of the day to day horribleness she’d had to endure for her entire life from her mother and her peers.

Am I advocating her killing the whole town? Not exactly. Obviously it’s wrong to massacre innocent people… but reading the story from her point of view… I can’t say that given all of that abuse I wouldn’t have gone the same amount of crazy.

For the Dark Tower fans: As I was baffling over Carrie’s power while reading this book, my boyfriend pointed out that it’s possible Carrie was a breaker. I know King didn’t write the Gunslinger until afterwards, but he said himself that Roland has always been with him. So it’s possible that themes from the DT series may have bled into his earlier books without King even realizing it.

I feel like this could be a valid theory, because Carrie is extremely mentally powerful, and because of her unstableness would have been an easy target for the low men. She may have sparked their radar, but because everything happens so fast and she ends up dying at the end, they may not have got there in time. I couldn’t help but picture a bunch of them off in the shadows during her death, shaking their heads in disappointment. She would have made one fuck of a breaker.

Fear Factor: I’d say this book is more fucked up than scary. I was absorbed in the creepiness, but mostly because Sissy Spacek is super creepy looking and I couldn’t stop picturing her face. But I found it more of an emotional rollercoaster, riding the waves of Carrie’s pitiful life. I’d have been able to read this by myself at night, let’s just say that.

Oh, Hit Girl. How I love thee.

“Sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions. It’s what you say when you spill a cup of coffee or throw a gutter ball when you’re bowling with the girls in the league. True sorrow is as rare as true love.” –Carrie, Stephen King, 1974